State and federal investigations are underway, and the state’s response to the crisis has become an issue in the presidential campaign.
Advertisement
However, it wasn’t immediately clear what effect that would have had in the situation in Flint, since the state Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Flint said its top 10% of samples were below that level.
The outbreak began in 2014 after Flint switched its drinking water source to the Flint River after using Detroit’s water system for decades.
The city of Flint, Michigan advised many residents to boil their water, after a water main break stoked fears of bacterial contamination. The team at WilmerHale is led by Ronald C. Machen Jr., a former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Debo Adegbile, former President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Gov. Rick Snyder never ordered a state agency to withhold information about lead testing in Flint schools, but instead quickly announced the results of water tests in 13 school buildings at a press conference in the city on October 8.
Clinton also made a stop at UA Local 370 in Mt. Morris Township and spoke with business manager Harold Harrington, who was featured on Rachel Maddow town hall on the Flint water crisis on MSNBC last month, about efforts taking place to install filters and other items for city residents to try and alleviate concerns.
Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency January 5 and then called on the Michigan National Guard to distribute bottled water and water filters in Flint.
State officials in MI did not tell the EPA’s Midwest regional everything they knew about Flint, and the regional office did not share everything it knew with EPA headquarters in Washington, Upton said.
Democratic lawmakers say the White House has signaled support for an emergency bill that would spend $765 million to help solve a water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Flint resident Marcy Lilly, who was living in Kentucky, and chose to move back to her hometown in November said she’s regretted the decision.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., said she expects Snyder to “provide a complete account of how the poisoning of an entire city was allowed to occur”, adding that questions about what happened in Flint “have gone unanswered for far too long”. She said while her water is clear, but she doesn’t know how clean it is.
Cummings and other Democrats are upset that Snyder, a Republican, declined to testify on the water crisis.
Advertisement
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Flint Democrat, said Snyder’s priorities for Flint “seem to match the areas we have been stressing for some time – health, education and infrastructure”. “There is more to be done and I will do everything in my power to resolve the current crisis and ensure that we resolve and rectify the root of the problem”, said Congressman Ryan.
